Reason of Insanity
by hedgehog-phantom101
Summary: When Eggman planned to use Shadow to fuel his new robots, he was hoping that his new plan would work! However, this plan has backfired and he is now facing dire consequences... (Rated M for dark themes)
1. Chapter 1

Eggman ran down the many hallways of his egg-base, rapidly glancing behind him for the hedgehog who was surly following behind. Alarms blared, broken glass littered the floors, and chaos energy was leaking all over the place. He panted, his heart racing as the cold sweat on his brow increased. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him! "I need to get to the commanding cellar! He will slow down by fighting my robots!" he explained outload. No one was with him, he just said it outload to calm himself down. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it to the commanding cellar, he turned on the microphone to the audio system "All Eggman robots, attack! Attack Shadow the hedgehog, but I want him alive!" He then quickly turned it off, his heart racing. This was a horrible idea, one of the dumbest moves he's ever made in his life! He couldn't believe how fast it all went downhill…!

Shadow fought against the metal cuffs keeping him bound to the cold, metal table. He admittingly liked to see the hedgehog struggle within the other room, his strength actually failing him for once. He smirked evilly. Everything was perfect, soon he would conquer the world once more, and that idiotic blue hedgehog couldn't stop him! He walked away from the observation glass and over to his main computer. He pulled up his blueprints; his pride doubling as he smiled wide. First, he would drain as much chaos energy from shadow has possible to fuel his machines, then, he would put Shadow into total submission. Once that was complete, he would then wipe all of Shadow's memories and replace them with new ones! Ones that would make him follow his every command and to beat Sonic and his pathetic friends! However, he paused. He wasn't quite sure about the whole 'putting Shadow into submission' thing. He wondered how he was going to do it… Beatings? No, that would limit how much he would fight…. Manipulation? No, that would affect how he would follow his commands… Eggman shrugged "I'm sure it'll come to me, but for now… lets get some chaos energy!" He turned back around, going to the door; he scanned his hand, which made the door open. He smirked as Shadow stopped struggling for a moment "not having such a good day, are we?" he stated. Shadow growled, obviously his voice made the hedgehog struggle even more. He smiled "what? No 'hello'? awe I'm hurt… honest!" Shadow growled "Let. Me. Go." He busted out into laughter "ohh-oh-ohhh that's rich! Sorry old friend, but no can do!" Shadow growled even deeper "we. Aren't. friends." He smirked. He then walked over and leaned over the helpless hedgehog. This made Shadow noticeably uncomfortable "what? Don't like the bright lights and metal cuffs? What a shame, I worked hard on them!" The hedgehog beneath him struggled more, not saying a word. He chuckled, pressing a button to make the metal table tilt up, it now rested at a 135-degree angle. He then talked over and stood in front of the table so Shadow could see him "I've cooked up a new plan; and you're just the hedgehog I need" the hedgehog struggled, but he could tell the hedgehog was listening "According to grandfather's dairy, your body produces around 8×1017 Joules. Your energy is so powerful that its compared to the energy released by the eruption of a volcano, a volcano that would sink an entire island!" Shadow paused at this, bingo, he had caught his attention. "That energy flows freely within your body, in fact, it makes about 80% of your body's energy!" Shadow was growing nervous; and that's what he wanted. "that kind of energy can last months to even years at a time. And that's what I want for my robots. Your chaos energy" Shadow struggled violently against the metal cuffs; He smirked "don't bother, these special cuffs are much stronger than anything you've ever dealt with! They are also the tool I will use to drain your chaos energy. Remember these?" He held up all four inhibitor rings, Shadows face paled at the sight of them "yes. Your inhibitors. Without them, I can suck as much energy out of you as I want." Shadow growled "I won't let you." He smiled, his face full of pride "or can you? You see, chaos energy is used and bended to that of its original owner. And which you can use it to escape, but don't worry, I have just the thing for that" Eggman held up the small green, glowing gem. Shadow gasped "a… chaos emerald…!?" He laughed "oooh hoo yes! This won't allow you to use your own energy!" Shadow shouted out in slight fear and frustration, he tugged and yanked at the cuffs as he put the gem into its slot at the base of the special table. "however, you can't survive on a mere 20% of energy…. Yet. I will slowly drain you of 10% of your energy, then take ten more away the next time, and then ten more, all the way down until I adjust to your body to living off of that mere 20%!" Shadow trying desperately to break free now, his body slammed the table as he tried to twist and writhe himself free. He smiled "don't worry, I have plans for you too! I won't let you go to waste!" He then walked over and adjusted the table back to 180-degress. He then pulled out a weird device from the side of the table and attacked it to shadow's shoulders and chest, he smirked evilly "I will break you in two, then wipe your memory so you can work me" Shadow stared to hyperventilate "but don't worry" he continued" I'll just break you first. I wasn't sure what to do at first, but now I've made up my mind." He then started up the device "every time energy isn't being drained from you, this device will send painful and powerful shocks throughout your entire body, one thing it focuses on his your head, so you won't even be able to struggle." With the snap of his figures the cuffs turned on and energy started to drain from the hedgehog, Shadow hissed and grunted in pain and discomfort. He smirked as he walked to the door "I will drain you how many times I feel like it. Then, once I've had enough, I will wipe your memories. So, enjoy them while you still can! No one is coming to save you. No one even knows you're here." Shadow called out in pain, making him smirk "have a nice draining session" he said as he left.

Oh… what a horrible mistake he had made. A horrible one indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

He prepared himself within the commanding bunker. No doubt the hedgehog had already ripped his robots to shreds. He didn't know what to do! He should've stopped as soon as he saw the signs, those weird chuckles, the mumbling, everything! Eggman hit his computer "come on, blasted thing!" he cried as he desperately tried to get a signal. He then switched to his camera feeds. He could see Shadow tear apart the robots without breaking a sweat at all. But… the worst part is was that he was in no rush. He was walking slowly towards the bunker. Eggman swore, turning on the microphone again "Shadow! Listen to me, w-we can talk this though now!" Shadow slowly came to a stop. He stood still for a moment, but then turned to one of the many cameras. He wore a wide, crazy grin on his face, as he swayed himself sided to side as if he had anxiety. His eyes wide and unfocused "_Why should I? It's not like you did anything when I begged and pleaded for you to stop._" Eggman clenched his teeth "l-listen to me; I can give back your energy, I can fix whatever common sense you still have left-_"_ He was cut off by insane and almost wicked laugh from the hedgehog, it was loud at first, but soon it died down. Shadow hunched forward "_It's way too late for that."_ Eggman growled "listen, please-_"_ Shadow cut him off by the same laughter again "_no, no, no, no, no…. you listen to me. I have sooo many feelings I'm just dying to share with you...! All of these memories… fake and real…. are all jumbled within my head. And you know…" _His facial expression changed, he was angry now, so angry it looked like he could kill a man "_...it hurts…!_" Eggman didn't know what to say… he had truly driven the hedgehog into pure madness, insanity! It was obvious what had gone wrong….

Days quickly turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. The hedgehog had pleaded and begged for him to stop between the draining sessions at first. His body too weak to move or struggle anymore. He almost felt bad for the hedgehog, but at the same time it was nice to give him a taste of his own medicine. He had watched behind the observation glass before; the hedgehog's body jolting a couple of times from the shocks being administrated. But with all the cries and pleas, he did nothing. He needed to ensure that Shadow was broken beyond repair so he could wipe his memories clean. But now… he was scarily silent. His body just making it at 30% of his energy. He has risen a brow at this, he actually had to make sure he hadn't accidently killed the hedgehog… He walked in; finding himself cautious as he approached the ebony hedgehog. He came over and loomed over him, the silence was broken by small mumbles, which surprised him. But this was nothing to get worried about, he walked out; ignoring the hedgehog. He continued the draining procedure as scheduled; no longer caring about the hedgehog behind the glass within the other room.

Everything drastically changed when he couldn't get the energy to condense onto a battery for his robots. He had spent hours mindlessly working on the formula... but to no avail. He even tried to get the robots to absorb the energy… but that didn't work either. All of this time, energy, and resources had almost been completely waisted. The only part that hadn't been waisted was the fact that Shadow was still usable, he could till turn Shadow into a weapon; an unknowing hostage against the blue pest of a hero. However, he needed to due this quickly, as G.U.N. had noticed Shadow's absence and had sent out some of Sonic's friends to look around for him… He stood from his lab table, which he had been pouring his time and effort into. With a click of a button he stored the energy into small tubes within the lab "I may still be able to use them for battles; we'll just have to see…" He turned off the lights and mad his way down to where the ebony hedgehog was kept. As he walked along, we wondered how the hedgehog would react to these new memories', would he accept them? Reject them? Could the old ones resurface? He shook it off as mere inconvenience as he entered the room where Shadow was kept. He was silent as usual, his eyes hollow. He smiled "now, the next phase begins!" He attached a machine to Shadow's head and he put on a pair of goggles onto the hedgehog's eyes, the goggles would flash strobe lights into his eyes, stunning him and keeping him from thinking, then the machine would hypnotize and trick him into having new memories. He knew this process worked, as he had tried it on another unwilling victim a long time ago… but…that was only to temporarily control them. Not to completely wipe and replace memories… but that didn't matter. It had to work, otherwise… this would all be for naught. He left the hedgehog a few hours a day should do the trick. But not before he heard an odd chuckle from the hedgehog as he left.


	3. Chapter 3

He was scared. Something he thought he would never admit to in his whole life. He was scared of what the ebony hedgehog was planning on doing to him, he was scared what Sonic and his friends would do if they found out about what he had done, he was even scared of what G.U.N. would do… It was obvious that he had awoken something within the hedgehog, something… _deadly_. A killer instinct, a crave for blood. His blood. And he was running out of time. He had sent out several distress signals, so hopefully _someone _would see it. He didn't care who, he didn't care what, but_ something_ had to stop Shadow. He was too frightened to even continue to talk to the hedgehog anymore. All he could do was watch helplessly as the ebony hedgehog walked slowly among the corridors; his lazy, slightly hunched stride scaring him even more…. He had no idea if he was going to make it out alive.

He had seen the horrible side effects. It was beginning to become clear that this whole plan was a failure. Shadow was not retaining the new memories like he was supposed to; instead his brain kept the new and old ones, as if an old memory were resurfacing. Any common sense Shadow had at that point slowly disappeared, he was hopelessly confused and he would cry out in pain every hour or so, even though there was nothing attached to him. It had gotten to worrisome that he had actually unblocked the hedgehog from the metal table and allowed him to roam the room. He noticed that Shadow would violently pace, and then would stop only to fall to his knees. At that point he would then grab his head and hunch over in pain at reoccurring headaches. The pain was consistent, and the torture unknowingly continued. What was even worse is that he had stopped draining the hedgehog's energy, which also lead him to grow tired as his body vigorously tried to burn off the said energy. Even more so; Shadow stopped eating and drinking, his body overwhelmed by its own senses. He truly felt bad; he didn't mean for it to go _this _far. But everything changed when the hedgehog became… violent.

It was a typical day today; he had come into the lab to check on Shadow's condition… but when he arrived; he nearly jumped out of his skin. The one-way observation was cracked and had deep scratch marks into it. He looked inside the room to see that Shadow had completely trashed the place; the walls tore up and scratched, the metal table laid broken on the floor in half, and the door dented from within. He didn't know what to quite make of it. But before he could even question where the hedgehog was within the room, the hedgehog suddenly run up and body slammed the window. This made him fall back in a heap, looking back up at the window. Shadow's eyes burned a deep, blood red; those same eyes filled with hate and pain. He quickly got up; eyeing the hedgehog. Shadow punched the glass repeatedly, blood dripping from his knuckles. He had never seen the ebony hedgehog so angry. But what was shocking is that his body had gotten used to so much pain, that the bloodied fists didn't stop him. He quickly ran for it as he heard the sound of shattering glass behind him; what followed after was a huge energy surge that sounded every alarm and busted anything glass related within the area; windows, computers, light bulbs, everything…! Even his own glasses cracked at the raw chaos energy. As he ran, he noticed that the energy surge had also broken the containers that he kept the stored chaos energy; making the energy seep everywhere. He didn't know what do to!

And now here he was, certain that the hedgehog was gunning for him, and him alone. He needed someone, anyone! He wouldn't even mind if Sonic dropped in! He needed help, and he needed it fast!

**I sincerely apologize, I previously uploaded the wrong chapter from another fanfiction I'm working on, this is the correct one. **


	4. Chapter 4

This was it. There was no other option… he would have to face the now crazed hedgehog himself. He ran over to the door; now wasn't the time to be prideful, now was the time to be smart. He found himself questioning his own sanity as he unlocked the door, and then ran back to the computer so he could transfer the files over to his flash drive; He had to time this just right… otherwise… he would be a red smear on the floor. He finished, took it out, and placed it into his pocket. He then turned out the lights and hid on the side of the door. He was close enough to see the hedgehog's shadow growing closer along the bottom of the door. He held his breath, there was no telling what the hedgehog would do… …. But then, nothing. Nothing at all… Had he passed the door? He looked down at the doors bottom again. There was definitely something there, but there was no movement. Had something stopped him? Was he waiting for him to think he wasn't there and to open the door? He swallowed hard and looked through the small peep hole attached to the door. Shadow was just… standing there. His crazed eyes set on the handle. He _was _waiting for him. He didn't even bother looking up at the tiny hole, it was obvious that the hedgehog knew he was inside. He moved away from the hole, making sure not to make a sound. He held his breath several times… This was a deadly game of hide and seek it seemed; as the longer they both waited, the worst Shadow became. He should shift and switch, his breathing becoming heavier. What on earth was Shadow doing? Why didn't he just open the door? As he questioned himself, he swallowed hard once again, taking yet another peek into the window. Shadow was clearly agitated; his body slightly shaking from the anger and anxiety he carried… Suddenly, it dawned on him. Shadow lacked common sense at this point. Had he seriously forgotten how to open a door? …No, he was smarter than that. He must've been waiting for the right moment… but that moment had seemed to pass and now he was getting angry. Suddenly, the hedgehog rose his foot, which had him immediately shifting back into his hiding place. Just as he did, the door burst open; it didn't take much to open it, as it was unlocked… He watched as the hedgehog stood there for a moment, those horrific ruby eyes darting all over the room. He then slowly walked in, his body still slightly hunched _"…Doctoooor… olly olly oxen free...!_" He couldn't believe what he was hearing…! Shadow was quiet literally treating this as if it were a game! He watched in horror as the hedgehog glanced around the room again, unaware that his target was just behind him "_don't be difficult._" He chuckled dryly to himself in a fit of insanity "_I'll make this quick._" Now he had to be careful, if we was going to make it out alive; he had to pull this off. However, the alarm lights of the hallway would make it impossible for him to sneak out the door. Shadow chuckled once again "_come on out."_ He stated coldly. "_I won't hurt you." _He knew he was lying, but he didn't know what to do..! Suddenly, something came crashing down the hallway. It was so loud it even caused the ebony hedgehog to jump. He gasped, has someone heard the call? Had they come to save him? Relief swept over him like cold water, maybe… just maybe… he could make it out of here! The sound of running could be heard now, which seemed to enrage shadow. He growled "_that's cheating. And you know it_. _You're making me angry. Come. Out. Now._" He was running out of time and sanity, he had to leave, now! He was never one to be brave, in fact, he considered himself quite cowardly, and now, he felt as if he was dirt; Asking for help in a problem HE had caused! He swallowed hard and worked up the courage… he suddenly made a dash for the door, running from his hiding place! But he wasn't fast enough! Shadow grabbed the back of his clothes and threw him back, slamming his body against the computer. His back ached at the force, he winced as he was now in front of the ebony hedgehog. The hedgehog smiled wickedly "_There you are._" He slowly walked forward, his feet dragging themselves along the floor. This made him panic, but before he could do anything, Shadow grabbed him by the shirt. Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, another silhouette showed within the door. He gasped as the ebony hedgehog turned to see who it was. It was the red headed echidna himself. The echidna blinked "What is… Shadow? Is that you?"


	5. Chapter 5

He had never been so happy to see Knuckles in his entire life…! The chances of someone actually seeing his signal was a 100 to 1! "K-knuckles! Help!" He begged, but that got him Shadow's shoe in his face. The hedgehog loomed over him, pressing his foot against his face. Knuckles paused at this. He hesitated "help? I only came because the readings of chaos energy _are far too strong_ here, I thought there was a chaos emerald around…" But he looked to Shadow "but… what _are_ you doing here…? No one has seen you for months." Shadow paused, not saying a word. He slowly turned and stared at the echidna, although he couldn't see the face the hedgehog made at the echidna, it was obvious that it was a frightening one, as the echidna flinched at it. The ebony hedgehog turned back to him. "Now." He stated "Where were we?" Chaos energy came from his hand, almost as if his hand were on fire! He began to plead and beg seeing that Knuckles' fists tightened… it was over… he was going to die here! Suddenly, the echidna spoke "No" Shadow's ear perked, he turned around and he looked at the echidna "_No?_" He must've had a crazed look in his eye, as the echidna froze. After a moment, he got into a battle stance. He growled "I said, no." Shadow smiled wickedly and laughed at him "_what are you going to do? __**fight me**__?"_

The echidna was visibly taken aback, there was something wrong with Shadow. And the fact that he had a crazed look in his eyes didn't help. What was he doing here? Didn't he know the others were looking for him? Before he could ask Shadow any of these questions the hedgehog slammed him into the wall, his hand clenched around his throat. The hedgehog spoke "_get in my way, and I'll kill you." _He struggled; Shadow was clearly beyond talking. He swung, hitting the hedgehog in the side of the head. Only… this didn't do anything. Shadow hadn't even flinched! Normally, if he swung at anyone, they would always be sore afterwards. Shadow smiled, a creepy grin on his face "_you think that hurt? Well…_" He pulled him away from the wall, and up close to his face _"… you don't what I've been through!_" He laughed insanely as he threw him across the floor like a rag doll. The echidna winced… Shadow… was enjoying this!? The ebony hedgehog summoned raw chaos energy into his hands "_I've been __**itching**__ for a good fight! Come at me, Knuckles, so I'll beat you until you can't even see!" _He growled, lunging at Shadow. Before he could even blink, the hedgehog had teleported behind him. Shadow suddenly grabbed his locks "_Too slow _~ " He said mockingly as he threw the echidna back into the wall. He gasped… this hurt… _bad_… he sat up, watching the now slightly hunched hedgehog "_you really are stupid…"_ he said "_do you know how many times I screamed?"_ Shadow summoned a barrage of chaos spears, he quickly jumped out of the way, barely missing the sharp edges. The hedgehogs voice grew louder "_do you know how many times I reassured myself; telling myself someone would come for me?" _He had no clue what he had meant. Surly he was here investigating the energy spike like he was? But… then again… there was something…. wrong with him…. why was he acting to aggressively? Why was he wanting to fight? And why…. And why was Eggman… scared…? The pieces started to fix together…. Something wasn't right here. He lunged again, only for the hedgehog to coolly move to the side. He missed. Shadow chuckled "_Gullible. A complete lack of any effort, as usual." _He growled… this wasn't going to be easy.

**authors note: I apologize for being away so long. I had a surgery**


End file.
